Zach Abbott was delighted with his early first-half goal which helped Forest record back-to-back wins following victory over Sparta Prague in the Premier League International Cup on Monday night.
The skipper scored the first goal of the game in a 3-2 victory against the Czech side and was ohappy with how the lads collectively contributed.
“It’s good to contribute to the winning performance and everyone did today from back to front with George Shelvey’s balls in and then Ateef running in and Julian. It was a good team performance," said Abbott.
“I think overall we stuck to our gameplan. We knew that they’re older, we knew that they’ve got quality, and European opposition are always going to be technical and try to provoke you in different ways, but I think overall we’re a top calibre.
"I think we can improve on coming out in the second half and losing those two goals, it was a bit of a disappointing start, but I’m glad the boys got it back together and finished it with a win.
The Sparta Prague win saw Abbott play in a different position with the central defender stepping into midfield, but his goal helped secure Forest’s second win of the tournament and back-to-back wins in all competitions following an 8-0 clash with Huddersfield.
“It’s a different challenge, but with that sort of position change added to my inventory I can be more versatile and help out the team in different ways. I think it’s just leading from that area, everything’s happening around you rather than in front of you and it’s developing me technically.
“I think I’m still very young, I’ve still got a long way to go before the first team or anything, so I think it’s just keeping yourself grounded, and to keep working hard to get results like these against a top opposition.”
The win over Sparta Prague came in the middle of a busy games programme, following a 4-1 win over Villarreal in a cross border, best against best challenge in the Al Abtal Cup.
The Reds now turn their attention to rivals Derby, who they face in the Premier League 2 on Monday night, an Abbott hopes to resume his fine form.
“We’re really excited, we’ve now won two on the bounce, so we're really excited for that one. I think it’s going to be a very good game; Derby are a good team but I think if we’re on top of our performance, we can definitely put up a strong performance.”